tinymica 238 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 26 minutes ago, gooniesneversaydie said: I did want to let you (and those of us still waiting) know the few things I learned about BU while I visited my school. It seems the two (plus BC and Brandies) work together a lot. I found out that they held a fairly large conference-type thing recently (the fall, maybe?) about alt-ac careers. They, as a group, combined resources to learn about alternative paths to make those choices available. These multi-school gatherings seem to be a thing, so it's a good opportunity to network. Also, several of the grad students mentioned that they loved being in the Boston area because so many schools were in close proximity and they're able to attend various academic/creative activities happening at other schools. One student also mentioned the Eng courses at BU are laid-back. I know this doesn't help much in the grand-scheme, but I did hear all good things! Thank you!! This really does help and I appreciate it! Link to post Share on other sites
meghan_sparkle 418 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 FYI got this forwarded by to me by an administrator re: Harvard — wouldn’t usually share this on a public forum but I think right now it’s probably helpful to make people aware of what’s happening at particular institutions because a lot of programs are probably each operating independently and in the dark. Kelsey1599 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WildeThing 472 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I honestly cannot think of a worse move than individual schools allowing for extensions. This is going to really mess with waitlists and force students to make decisions they might not otherwise make. Link to post Share on other sites
hamnet in tights 60 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Well, in any case, for my timezone, it seems as if our week is done... although granted all I'm waiting at this point is waitlists, and I sincerely doubt Monday will bring a whole lot of movement... Link to post Share on other sites
okonivek 9 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Does anyone know if University of Iowa is sending out rejections to its waitlist? I got a rejection email today from them, but I had formerly been told I was on the highest tier of the waitlist. I emailed them to clear up the confusion. I didn't think I'd hear anything until closer to the 4/15 deadline. Link to post Share on other sites
Rrandle101 224 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Committed just now to Cornell's Medieval Studies PhD program, good luck to everyone else! MundaneSoul, punctilious, CanadianEnglish and 18 others 21 Link to post Share on other sites
timespentreading 48 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 On 3/13/2020 at 8:12 PM, okonivek said: Does anyone know if University of Iowa is sending out rejections to its waitlist? I got a rejection email today from them, but I had formerly been told I was on the highest tier of the waitlist. I emailed them to clear up the confusion. I didn't think I'd hear anything until closer to the 4/15 deadline. I got a rejection after being on the waitlist as well. I just assumed it meant the other candidate(s) in my period accepted their offers. Link to post Share on other sites
gooniesneversaydie 407 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Tufts has been great at communicating with their admits. I've received several emails from the DGS and Dean of the Grad School apologizing and reassuring me the chaos won't affect the Fall semester. The power went out while I was visiting campus, so they had to deal with that along with the virus issues - bless them. The constant communication has been a nice surprise. All the POI's I've reached out to before and after my visit (I did have to reach out on my own - I didn't get any welcome emails) have emailed me back within a couple of hours. I didn't initially have the best conversation with my primary POI, which made my heart drop in my butt, as this is my only Ph.D. option, but my correspondence since has been much clearer and positive. Still waiting on BU..... But if my options come down to applying again next year (No. Just no. I'm so tired) or going to Tufts, I'll most likely choose Tufts. They're a plucky little department and seem to use the smallness to their advantage. tinymica, Fading_light and spikeseagulls 3 Link to post Share on other sites
spikeseagulls 154 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Has anyone else still not heard anything from UC Davis? I don't even think I'm interested in the program anymore, but the silence seems kind of odd lol, considering acceptances and rejections went out forever ago. Link to post Share on other sites
AnachronisticPoet 37 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 8 hours ago, spikeseagulls said: Has anyone else still not heard anything from UC Davis? I don't even think I'm interested in the program anymore, but the silence seems kind of odd lol, considering acceptances and rejections went out forever ago. I imagine at this point that it might just be an oversight. Might be worth emailing them to ask spikeseagulls 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AnachronisticPoet 37 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 On 3/10/2020 at 9:01 PM, tinymica said: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-harvard-colleges-closed-184640323.html Did everybody hear about this? Harvard students have 5 days to vacate their dorms and....not come back. Many students have nowhere to go, especially international students for whom it is not an option to return home. Wtf is the world right now? University of Dayton was given 24 hours notice. Students were scrambling for transportation and packing or finding alternative options if they couldn't go home. They could apply for extenuating circumstances to stay on campus (like international students, queer students possibly) Link to post Share on other sites
caffeinated applicant 210 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 On 3/13/2020 at 6:32 PM, WildeThing said: I honestly cannot think of a worse move than individual schools allowing for extensions. This is going to really mess with waitlists and force students to make decisions they might not otherwise make. As someone sitting on two waitlists and no acceptances, I disagree with this one. Right now I'm not able to do my usual due-diligence on schools due to turmoil in my own work and personal life due to the virus sucking up every waking hour, and anyway, many schools and individual people aren't nearly as responsive as they would be otherwise in mid-March--because the virus is sucking up all their time too--so even the emails I do send don't get responses. I want the space to hold these conversations in the middle of April, instead of feeling like my time to get answers and reassure programs of my interest is going down the drain as I make sure that my family is safe and try to help others in and beyond my personal circles. Getting an acceptance on May 17th wouldn't be that different to me than getting it on April 17th, so far as the logistics of moving my entire life and my partner's life to a different state would be, but knowing that the deadline was extended would make my March less of a hellscape. And I know that others are in much, much worse positions! I'm like, top 10% easiest situations! I wish that the deadlines could be uniformly pushed back two weeks or a month so that professors and current students didn't have to deal with grad admissions stuff on top of their mountain of existing responsibilities due to moving classes online, childcare up in the air, professional obligations like standing on sand, etc. etc. I wish the deadlines were pushed back so that current undergrads didn't have to juggle this on top of forced evictions from their dorms. I wish, I wish... meghan_sparkle and Kelsey1599 2 Link to post Share on other sites
gooniesneversaydie 407 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Gather round the campfire kids (@GoldHippie, @Emailchecker, @onerepublic96 ), ol' gooniesneversaydie has a new tale to tell about the mystical college known as BU. Legend has it that this school only appears to those who are true of heart (@tinymica) on the third new moon of the winter solstice. No, I just got a response back from the email I sent the department last week asking about my application. Thanks for reaching out! The graduate admissions board is still reviewing applications, and they hoped to release decisions by mid-March. Because of the university closure, however, things have slowed down somewhat. Hopefully applicants will hear back with their decisions over the next couple weeks, but I'm not too sure myself because of the confusion. So, here we are. We have no clue. Apparently, they have no clue. So.... Fading_light, onerepublic96, Emailchecker and 4 others 7 Link to post Share on other sites
caffeinated applicant 210 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 I'd like to nominate BU for the award of "Grad Café's Choice: Worst Admissions Process" for 2020 ???? "I'm not too sure myself"... dang. tinymica, gooniesneversaydie, Emailchecker and 4 others 7 Link to post Share on other sites
Emailchecker 37 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 It's very hard not to lose respect for them at the moment. I don't mind the waiting - we have all become experts in that by now - but I do mind the BS. The admissions board is 100% not still reviewing applications. If they are, then it is even greater BS that they have made offers before seeing all apps?!?! Ok, BU. Take a sit. gooniesneversaydie, Lighthouse Lana and Fading_light 3 Link to post Share on other sites
tinymica 238 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 @gooniesneversaydie thanks for the update! They still haven’t gotten back to me with real answers, just forwarded my email to the relevant people. I’m very miffed about the way they’re treating admits and waiting applicants alike. I was trying to be understanding about the unprecedented circumstances, but every other university seems to be okay communicating with students! I agree with @Emailchecker; it’s tough not to lose some respect for them. gooniesneversaydie and Lighthouse Lana 2 Link to post Share on other sites
gooniesneversaydie 407 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 16 minutes ago, Emailchecker said: It's very hard not to lose respect for them at the moment. I don't mind the waiting - we have all become experts in that by now - but I do mind the BS. The admissions board is 100% not still reviewing applications. If they are, then it is even greater BS that they have made offers before seeing all apps?!?! Ok, BU. Take a sit. I'm also doubtful that they're still reviewing applications, as we know at least 4 people have already been accepted. Not to say they aren't working on a waitlist or their MA offer list, but I think the PhD admits have been chosen and sent out. It is an usual time, however, we've been waiting for responses since before shit hit the fan at the universities. And if they aren't sending out responses to admits, like @tinymica said, then it really puts a bad taste in my mouth about how the administration handles things in general. It's a big school, so I'm still trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but c'mon now. Emailchecker, merry night wanderer and tinymica 3 Link to post Share on other sites
tinymica 238 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 1 hour ago, AnachronisticPoet said: University of Dayton was given 24 hours notice. Students were scrambling for transportation and packing or finding alternative options if they couldn't go home. They could apply for extenuating circumstances to stay on campus (like international students, queer students possibly) Excuse me??? 24 HOURS? This is unconscionable and disgusting. Kelsey1599 and AnachronisticPoet 2 Link to post Share on other sites
merry night wanderer 293 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) I mean, a lot of us have already chosen at this point. Even if BU came by with any sort of offer I'd have to immediately respond with "taken, sorry." I'm sure a lot happens behind the scenes to complicate any admissions process, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're left scrambling to fill their cohort. Edited March 16, 2020 by merry night wanderer tinymica and gooniesneversaydie 2 Link to post Share on other sites
onerepublic96 321 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 51 minutes ago, merry night wanderer said: I mean, a lot of us have already chosen at this point. Even if BU came by with any sort of offer I'd have to immediately respond with "taken, sorry." I'm sure a lot happens behind the scenes to complicate any admissions process, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're left scrambling to fill their cohort. I’m also really annoyed with BU and how they’ve been handling this process, but still can I just say... BU, I volunteer as tribute! gooniesneversaydie, merry night wanderer and Lighthouse Lana 3 Link to post Share on other sites
onerepublic96 321 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Finally got my NYU rejection, with a baffling invitation to have my application considered for the MA in Irish and Irish-American studies. Strange because while I do love Joyce, Irish studies couldn’t be farther from my stated and demonstrated research interests... jm6394 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gooniesneversaydie 407 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 I am curious to see how next year will play out for the 2021/22 applicants. Will there be more openings in programs due to the cancellations/lack of communication? Are the cohorts going to be drastically larger? Would that impact potential funding? Will there be a ripple effect that impacts the job market in 5-6 years? I was at my first undergrad institution during H1N1 in 2009 (I had to be escorted off campus and self-quarantined, because I had it) and schools shut down for about a week, but I don't remember it being this intense, or what the overall impact on academia was. Link to post Share on other sites
tinymica 238 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Shout out to all the grad students who have been graciously reading my essay-length emails and answering my 2000000 questions! (I have definitely thanked them profusely already but just saying.) Link to post Share on other sites
gooniesneversaydie 407 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 16 minutes ago, tinymica said: Shout out to all the grad students who have been graciously reading my essay-length emails and answering my 2000000 questions! (I have definitely thanked them profusely already but just saying.) Omg! These grad students are champs! Definitely going to have to pay it forward in the future. I'll send 25-50 questions and they'll immediately respond with, "um, let's chat on the phone!" One student was actually submitting her dissertation the day she spoke to me! Like, focus on you, girl, my inane questions can wait! tinymica 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tinymica 238 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 15 minutes ago, gooniesneversaydie said: Omg! These grad students are champs! Definitely going to have to pay it forward in the future. I'll send 25-50 questions and they'll immediately respond with, "um, let's chat on the phone!" One student was actually submitting her dissertation the day she spoke to me! Like, focus on you, girl, my inane questions can wait! I know! I'm extremely grateful for them. I try to be super respectful of their time and let them know that they don't have to answer all my questions if they don't have time. It's just helpful if they do I also offer to buy them a coffee or something similar as thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
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